John Terry has reflected on a perfect competitive campaign under Fabio Capello which has taken England to the brink of the World Cup finals and admitted next summer's tournament may be the last opportunity for a generation of players to taste success with the national team.

Wednesday's 6–0 victory over Andorra took England 10 points clear of Croatia, their next opponents in September, and Ukraine in Group Six. The impact made by Capello since he took up the reins is reflected by the fact that the merest suggestion he might leave after the finals in South Africa prompts panic. The manager signed a contract to take him to 2012 upon succeeding Steve McClaren, though his position was always to be reviewed by both parties after the World Cup.

Capello's response to questions about his future prompted an unclear response in the aftermath of this week's latest win. "My future? I have to play the World Cup," he said. "I have to focus on the next game and then the one after, not on the future. It is too far away. I am happy, but this is a Football Association decision. My future is not a distraction. Don't worry. Every time I have been clear in my decisions." Yet, while the FA remain confident that the Italian will remain in his post well beyond 2010, the players are unwilling to ­contemplate anything else at present.

"Not being at last summer's European Championships gave us all a kick up the backside, which maybe we needed," Terry said. "We weren't playing well and we all admitted that. Now things are going well, we're working hard for each other and the manager deserves a pat on the back. He's shown us videos when we didn't work back and fight for each other. When you see things like that on the screen with the manager standing there, it makes you want to fight harder for your team-mates.

"This might be the last opportunity for some of the older players like David Beckham in this squad [to win major honours], and maybe guys younger than him as well. You never know what will happen in football. It's important we have a good season next year, qualify for this World Cup and go into the tournament fully fit.

"Not being at the Euros opened our eyes a bit, and we're more hungry and determined as a result. The manager deserves so much credit. We've had a very good start to the group and long may it continue. The improvement is there but we've got to keep it going. There's no point doing it over seven qualifiers and then standing still for a year. The key is to keep steadily improving."

Capello's achievements over his first full season in charge have extended beyond the seven wins from as many qualifying games. Wayne Rooney is scoring again – 10 goals in seven matches – and he has adopted a system that allows Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard to excel together within an England team. Theo Walcott and Glen Johnson have established themselves down the side's right flank, while the untimely absence of players such as Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand through injury has not derailed the team's progress.

The England coach will experiment with his side once qualification has been assured – victory against Croatia should be enough to confirm progress to South Africa – with players such as James Milner, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Tom Huddlestone expected to feature more regularly in the autumn. "We have always had good individuals, but now we are playing as a team," Lampard said. "We were playing well for our clubs week in and week out, but never hurt international teams as a group. Now we are.

"There is a togetherness about us, you can feel it in training every day, and that is the difference. At the moment it is all clicking, but we will be judged at the end of the World Cup rather than winning games against Andorra. I feel the hunger even more the more experience I get. I am enjoying my football for both Chelsea and England. I am feeling more confident and just want to keep playing. It is a big season ahead for me."